


Cat's Dance

by Meracle Marisa (Its_Neko_Time)



Category: Space Station 13 (Video Game)
Genre: Catboys & Catgirls, Cute, F/F, First Meetings, IN SPACE!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-26
Updated: 2019-07-26
Packaged: 2020-07-20 04:31:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19986154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Its_Neko_Time/pseuds/Meracle%20Marisa
Summary: A romance blooms between two catgirls in space.This work is based on events during actual game round(s) of Space Station 13, which is best described as "a paranoia-laden round-based roleplaying game set against the backdrop of a nonsensical, metal death trap masquerading as a space station"





	Cat's Dance

The crackling of an intercom seemed almost to pull her back into reality, her ears flattening at the infernal sound. "HELLO. THE AUTOMATIC DIAGNOSTICS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS SYSTEM WELCOMES YOU BACK TO SPACE STATION THIRTEEN. REMEMBER: HAVE A SECURE DAY." it blared, cutting off as noisily as it started.

"Time to get back to work." Chen muttered. She sat up in her armchair, cracking her neck as she did so, before pushing herself to her feet. Blinking a few times, she let her eyes adjust to the dim lighting of the room. Just the way she liked it. She stepped over to her personal locker, swiping her ID off of the adjacent desk and running it across the scanner until it unlocked with a satisfying click. 

She opened it up, and hooked her off-duty wear onto the door's hanger. Reaching in, she grabbed her jumpsuit - bright red, with gold trimmings, and slipped it on, letting the fabric wrap snugly around her toned form, her twin tails slipping through a hole in the back. She put on her jackboots. Her black, armored trenchcoat went over her shoulders, and her matching beret fit atop her short, chestnut hair and fuzzy brown cat ears. Both the coat and beret were plated with gold insignia on the shoulders and brim respectively. She affixed her ID to her coat, snapped on her gear belt, and pulled an eyepatch over her head - her custom CyberPatch Security Targeting HUD. Finally, the finishing touch: she reached into her locker's gun case, and took from it her trusted X-O1 Multiphase Energy Gun, the one and only, and fit it tightly into her coat's holster. 

Closing her locker, and locking it, Chen straightened herself up, settling into her uniform of choice. Approaching the exit to her office, she stopped just before the airlock. Taking a deep breath, the catgirl let out a long quiet sigh as she steeled herself for whatever inevitable challenge she would need to overcome. "Go ahead. Make my day." she growled.

Chen placed her hand on the airlock. Green lights blinked to life as it scanned her ID and approved her access level, hissing loudly as the metal slid along their wells and out of the way. Light from the adjacent room poured over her, and she stepped forwards into it, her slit russet pupils narrowing through the glare. Before her, two long tables ran parallel to her sides, and behind each stood a number of individuals, varying in size and race, but all clad in bright red jumpsuits, body armor, and helmets. There were two exceptions. One in a lighter brown trenchcoat and fedora, the Detective, and one clad in a darker red, silver-trimmed uniform, wearing a flat-topped blue hat, the Warden. The latter stood closest in position to Chen, and loudly announced, "Head of Security on deck!" In response, everyone stood up straight, and each saluted towards Chen, their department head. 

Chen remained in place, her expression remained neutral, and though she was perhaps the shortest person in the room, her bearing remained the most imposing, arms folded in a commanding stance. She slowly panned her eyes around the room, giving her team a critical survey. Some she recognized, some were rookies. Not all of this team of hers was likely to survive this shift, but they would have to do. She declared her objectives to the security team: "Keep the records updated. Keep things non-lethal, or I will demote you. Above all, we keep the station secure. Dismissed."

With nods of agreement, the others in the room dispersed, leaving to man their respective stations or patrol the halls. Chen casually followed behind the Warden, who observed her pass into one of the most secure rooms in the entire station: the Armoury. She walked along the racks of weaponry, propped ready to be distributed in the greatest times of need. Stopping at one rack, she reached down and let her gloves wrap tightly around a gun barrel to the favorite companion to her X-01: a pump-action shotgun. A wry smile crossed her lips as she hefted the weapon in her hand, turning around to a view surveying the whole of her department, her zone, her Brig. It was time to make her day.

===========================

Chen let out a quiet groan as she moved into the bar, leaning back against the glass wall separating the two airlocks serving as the entrance. She spoke into her radio, keying into the station's command channel, exclusive to those who led and maintained the station. "I'll take your word for it, Quartermaster." She had just gotten a report of the head of the Cargo department making riot darts for a toy gun, which was considered contraband as far as Security was concerned. Though, the QM had denied it. Searching him to prove otherwise would be a hassle, and likely to result in a grievance. "As long as they're just foam." she added in warning. Cargo was notorious for ordering weaponry, not for security, but for themselves, which often led to a mess. A mess the Head of Security would have to clean, much to her ire.

Resting her head back against the glass, she took a sip out of a cup of tea she had been holding, and let her eyes unfocus, drowning out the drivel of the busy tavern. The shift had been quiet so far. In relative, at least. But, that had only meant she was forced instead to deal with the many petty, minor issues that normally weren't worth her time. She was normally satisfied to be busy the whole shift, but she needed a break from this. She allowed herself some brief rest, closing her eyes as she emptied the rest of her cup.

The slight moment of peace she felt was quickly extinguished by a report of a mime causing trouble. Again. There was no rest for security. With a light sigh, she placed the cup in a disposal bin and trudged out of the bar.

She didn't get very far before a feminine voice called out to her, "Cute tails."

Chen's ears swiveled around to point towards the voice, before she did an about face to match, looking into the Medical Bay. Standing around the lobby was an officer and a chemist, engaged in a casual conversation, but looking at her. She glanced at the officer briefly, but her eyes were really drawn to the chemist beside them. She was somewhat taller, with short brown hair and curious cat ears like she had, draped over a soft face with rich lips that were giving her a smile. The girl's head was placed on a toned, yet supple body, sporting athletic legs and a long, fuzzy tail. But what was most striking was her eyes. A shimmering emerald color, they looked almost deep enough to drown in. 

She blinked a few times at both the sight and the compliment, letting her tails curl around her waist to more properly show them off. "Ah... thanks..." Chen returned, in a somewhat awkward reply. 

The officer next to the chemist, Officer Lineman, piped up, introducing the two. "Have you met Fermis, HoS?"

Chen shook her head. "No, I haven't." She didn't review records much except to look up criminals, leaving her only really familiar with the other heads of staff and her security team, who both were quite chatty on their respective radio frequencies. And the station’s troublemakers, of course, of which this didn’t appear to be one of. She turned back to the girl. "I'm Chen, the Head of Security."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the mime run by. The sharp gaze of the HoS flicked over towards the officer, just briefly. He seemed to get the hint. "See ya." He gave a snap of his fingers, before running off to go chase down the mime. Just the HoS and the Chemist were left in the lobby.

Chen frowned slightly as she turned her attention back to the Chemist. She felt just a little put on the spot, having someone's attention like this. Her gaze swept over the other cat, grasping for something to compliment in return. She aimed for something unoriginal, and easy. "...You've got a pretty nice tail as well. It's big... and soft." she stated, in a rather flat tone. 

Despite it, though, the girl seemed to brighten, giving a beaming smile. "Hee~ Thank you!" Her tail began to wag back and forth happily, her hips swaying side to side. She wove her hands together, thoughtfully remarking, "It seems like you're doing a good job so far. Nothing really dangerous has happened!"

"Mm." Chen agreed with the notion. Thankfully, talking shop was a lot easier to do than finding compliments. She crossed her arms, looking stout, and "It's a peaceful shift. So far. The worst I've had to deal with is vandalism. Petty vandalism." She thought back to earlier, when an assistant had taken most of the tea on the station just to toss cups upon cups of it at the brig entry. Getting dragged face-first through the ceramic while cuffed had served to teach him a lesson.

The chemist seemed interested, eagerly offering, "I can make cleaning bombs if you need to get rid of a bunch of graffiti!" She turned her head and gestured towards the chemlab behind them, housing several large machines for mixing, heating, and dispensing chemicals. The medicine it could produce was vital to medbay, though they could produce many other useful - or dangerous - chemicals. "Ah, though... I guess that's what the janitor is useful for as well."

Chen nodded knowingly, putting her hand up to her chin, thinking on it. "Actually, the janitor staff has been pretty on-the-ball. They've been very helpful, admittedly." she stated. 

The Chemist nodded as well, seeming to understand. Seconds passed as a lull formed, despite the busy atmosphere around them, station crew rushing down the halls and through medbay. It seemed neither of them knew what to say, until the Chemist held her hand up in a little wave. "I don't think we've met before, I'm Fermis." She greeted with a big smile, having not properly introduced herself until now.

The pep of the other was a little more than the much more serious Chen could normally handle. "R-right…" she stumbled a bit on her words, pausing to clear her throat, rubbing her arm uncomfortably. "Sorry if I'm a little…." She struggled to find the right word to fit. "...Unsocial."

Fermis didn't seem fazed by it at all, just standing there and smiling. "Oh, I don't mind at all! It's a lil' cute," she replied with a small grin.

Chen was completely taken aback by that, suddenly flustered and defensive. "Me? Cute!?" she asked in surprise. "I… never thought I'd hear that from someone."

The reaction seemed to fluster Fermis just as much, who immediately bowed in apology. "You don't think so…? I didn't mean to be untoward or anything, if I was."

"Oh, no. No, no." Chen grimaced, flailing her hands to dismiss the notion. She straightened herself and averted her eyes, replying, "Most people are put off by my… stiff appearance… so I've just never gotten that sort of compliment before." she admitted somewhat sheepishly. She turned back, getting an idea. "I guess you could say I'm… a little catty." She forced a smile as she made the remark.

Fermis seemed to brighten right back up on hearing that, letting her tail wag and her hips sway slightly. "Hee~ You are very pettable," she happily replied, turning the joke into another compliment.

"A-ah, is that so...?" Chen again seemed to fumble at being given a compliment like that. She felt the need to say something in return, blurting out, "W-well, you look pretty nice your-"

The sentence was suddenly cut off by her departmental radio flaring to life with voices she couldn't ignore. The station AI droned, "I AM DETECTING SOME SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY IN THE PLASMA MINES." followed almost immediately by an officer's voice, one she recognized as Dee Volantes. "In the base! There's a crazy cult in the mining base! Oh shit, they've got me! OH GO-" they screamed, before cutting off abruptly.

Chen suddenly bolted alert, frowning intensely. She yelled the officer's name into her headset, "Volantes? VOLANTES?" which seemed to slightly startle Fermis as well. Her mind already getting into full gear, she moved forwards, raising her hand to push the chemist out of the way in her current objective to get to the brig. However, she stopped in her tracks, the thought of the action giving her pause. Instead of pushing through the chemist, Chen firmly placed a hand on her shoulder, giving a terse, but caring, "Stay safe." Moving around her, she strode into the hallway, leaving Fermis to her own fate.

===========================

Chen stared out the window, gazing upon the vast, deep emptiness of space.

She stood in her office, the lights off. The room was illuminated only by the starlight seeping in through the window, and by the glow of multiple terminals around her. The stars twinkled so dimly, the light reaching so far to get to this point, almost as if they could be snuffed out with little but a thought.

"HoS." a voice spoke into her ear. It was Officer Lineman. "We've apprehended the last of the cultists."

A metal rod lazily floated past her field of view as she continued to stare out the window, silently. Rebuilding after a crisis was always the hard part. The window served not just as an impressive view of the limitless reaches beyond, but also as a reminder of how little seperated her between the safety of her office and the deadly void on the other side, and how easily it could be breached.

A console underneath reflected onto the window, hanging in her view like a spectre. It displayed the security record of Fermis, the chemist. She, along with many others of the crew, had escaped the chaos on an emergency shuttle, while those like Security were left to deal with the threat, or die trying. It was unclear when, or if, they would meet again.

"HoS. Chen. Are you there? Your orders?" the voice of Lineman insistently asked through the security frequency.

Chen closed her eyes, letting her hand settle on her earpiece, clicking it on. "You know what to do with them. Stay vigilant. It only takes a single survivor for them to create another crisis."

"Understood." the reply came, with a finger snap added in, before the line went silent once more.

Chen reopened her eyes, watching out the window once more. Yet inevitably, she found herself returning towards that reflection on the window, gazing at the chemist displayed on the screen.

"....Cute, huh?"


End file.
